Now what?

[BobPSU92]

Coming off a bye week at home with a lot to play for and playing a beatable team, and Penn State completely shit the bed. Bad offense, bad defense, bad special teams, turnovers, penalties...

I am concerned that the team is not as good as many of us thought or hoped. However, I am more concerned that team chemistry is lacking and could get worse as a result of the last two close losses that could have or should have been wins. It is often hard to differentiate poor play from poor coaching since we aren't in the practices or on the sidelines, but it is certainly fair to be concerned about the coaching at this point.

So what happens next? We have learned a lot about this team, not what we had hoped to learn, but we will learn even more by the way the team responds to adversity. Do they mail it in? Is there finger pointing? Do they resolve themselves to get better, physically and mentally, and take their game to a new level?

What will we see against indiana? More of the same or a team determined to save their season? It's a steep hill to climb at this point.

 

[danvillenit]

The team is definitely not as good as people thought. Not sure what they looked at that said playoff team. We don't have a single playmaker on defense except maybe Miller. Offense lost a ton of talent.

 

[Beachwineguy]

I’m more disappointed after reports came out that they had the best practice of the season earlier in the week. I’d hate to see how they would play after bad practices.

 

[BobPSU92]

The team is definitely not as good as people thought. Not sure what they looked at that said playoff team. We don't have a single playmaker on defense except maybe Miller. Offense lost a ton of talent.

I, stupidly, was confident in the offense because I thought there was plenty of talent available to overcome the losses of Barkley, Hamilton, and Gesicki. My biggest concern coming into the season was tight-end play, but Freirmuth has been very good for a freshman. The poor play by the wide receivers, aside from Hamler, has really surprised me.

On defense, I had concerns about all the new starters, but I thought they would be better by virtue of their recruiting rankings. The inconsistency displayed by veterans Reid and Amani and the poor tackling week to week is extremely disappointing.

 

[BobPSU92]

I’m more disappointed after reports came out that they had the best practice of the season earlier in the week. I’d hate to see how they would play after bad practices.

I mentioned that to my wife last night. If they had their best practice on Thursday, based on what we saw yesterday, I have to wonder (a) how that practice on Thursday was run (i.e., Was it meaningful in terms of preparation?) and (b) how bad the other practices were.

 

[PennStateNate]

What now??

I got up, will go to breakfast with my family. Come home do some stuff around the house. Work this week and spend time at home.

Life goes on.

 

[Big 0]

I felt the team was gradually improving the first 3 games, but now it appears to be regressing. The inability to stop a 4th quarter come from behind rally by the opponent on a consistent basis is very alarming. The offense has not been consistent, receivers are not getting open, the scheme appears to be lacking and Trace is starting to look less than pedestrian. This is not even a good team at this point and time.

 

[psuro]

I plan on drinking heavily.

 

[b&w1987]

Trust Franklin will figure it out. Our Oline still getting handled. Our Dline not getting consistent pressure. Our DBs not catching int when available. Out wideouts could not seem to get open. Other than that we’re pretty good.

 

[Shadow99]

Trust Franklin will figure it out. Our Oline still getting handled. Our Dline not getting consistent pressure. Our DBs not catching int when available. Out wideouts could not seem to get open. Other than that we’re pretty good.

The OL run blocking is fair game but the pass blocking hasn’t been bad overall.

 

[grinagrin]

Coming off a bye week at home with a lot to play for and playing a beatable team, and Penn State completely shit the bed. Bad offense, bad defense, bad special teams, turnovers, penalties...

I am concerned that the team is not as good as many of us thought or hoped. However, I am more concerned that team chemistry is lacking and could get worse as a result of the last two close losses that could have or should have been wins. It is often hard to differentiate poor play from poor coaching since we aren't in the practices or on the sidelines, but it is certainly fair to be concerned about the coaching at this point.

So what happens next? We have learned a lot about this team, not what we had hoped to learn, but we will learn even more by the way the team responds to adversity. Do they mail it in? Is there finger pointing? Do they resolve themselves to get better, physically and mentally, and take their game to a new level?

What will we see against indiana? More of the same or a team determined to save their season? It's a steep hill to climb at this point.

Two things I’m worried about.

1- Coaches may have lost this team.

2- Another loss in which the coaches can’t figure out how to put teams away is going to hurt recruiting.

I seriously hope I am wrong.

 

[nits74]

Truth be told, this is no longer a top tier program. It hasn't been since the mid 90's. Franklin indicated after the OSU loss that we were great, but not elite. News flash: We aren't anywhere near being great. What Penn State has become, despite having one of the best fan bases and traditions in college football, is the equivalent of Michigan State, Wisconsin, West Virginia, etc. That is, we will occasionally compete at a top ten level, but not consistently. And rarely will we win the big, big games. As much as that hurts, this is what we are. Twenty plus years is a large enough sample size to draw this conclusion.

 

[Grass]

I Still don't get the heat the defense is taking from the game yesterday. The offense lost that game. When the defense sucks I will be the first to admit it, but they played good enough to win yesterday. You can't score 17 points in this era of college football and expect to win. The offense blew it plain and simple.

 

[TheBumble]

Now what? Obviously we win out and play Washington in a bowl game.

 

[Lyons212]

Truth be told, this is no longer a top tier program. It hasn't been since the mid 90's. Franklin indicated after the OSU loss that we were great, but not elite. News flash: We aren't anywhere near being great. What Penn State has become, despite having one of the best fan bases and traditions in college football, is the equivalent of Michigan State, Wisconsin, West Virginia, etc. That is, we will occasionally compete at a top ten level, but not consistently. And rarely will we win the big, big games. As much as that hurts, this is what we are. Twenty plus years is a large enough sample size to draw this conclusion.

I think we are a top 10 program. Yesterday was a bad game all the way around, no doubt about it. The key is how do they respond against Indiana. Before the season, most experts has us 9-3, we will see what happens the next 4 weeks. Under Franklin they have always struggled coming off a loss.

Yesterday happens, look at Georgia yesterday, another team that did not show up and they were #2 in the country.

 

[BobPSU92]

I Still don't get the heat the defense is taking from the game yesterday. The offense lost that game. When the defense sucks I will be the first to admit it, but they played good enough to win yesterday. You can't score 17 points in this era of college football and expect to win. The offense blew it plain and simple.

1. Taylor dropped an easy interception that could have sealed the game. On the next play, msu hit a wide-open receiver for a 1st down.

2. Amani dropped an easy interception that would have sealed the game. On the next play, msu hit a wide-open receiver for a 1st down.

3. Amani was lost on msu's game-winning touchdown.

Pass coverage and tackling were poor yesterday and have been all season. There really is no debating it.

Yes, the offense had all kinds of issues yesterday, but the offense has been pretty good this season overall. Penn State's defense has had issues all season.

 

[grinagrin]

Everyone on here is making good points. Another thing I’ll say, if we find a way to win out which would include beating ranked Wisky and Iowa and a top 10 win @UM, our season and recruiting would be salvaged.

 

[nits74]

Everyone on here is making good points. Another thing I’ll say, if we find a way to win out which would include beating ranked Wisky and Iowa and a top 10 win @UM, our season and recruiting would be salvaged.

True, but that isn't going to happen.

 

[wbcincy]

What now??

I got up, will go to breakfast with my family. Come home do some stuff around the house. Work this week and spend time at home.

Life goes on.

I dare say everyone understands the world doesn’t stop spinning. God forbid someone asks what’s next with respect to the football team on a football board without a perspective lecture.

 

[lbujoe33]

1. Taylor dropped an easy interception that could have sealed the game. On the next play, msu hit a wide-open receiver for a 1st down.

2. Amani dropped an easy interception that would have sealed the game. On the next play, msu hit a wide-open receiver for a 1st down.

3. Amani was lost on msu's game-winning touchdown.

Pass coverage and tackling were poor yesterday and have been all season. There really is no debating it.

Yes, the offense had all kinds of issues yesterday, but the offense has been pretty good this season overall. Penn State's defense has had issues all season.

We have doubled their best receiver in that situation.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

 

[fairgambit]

Now what? We wil beat Indiana and move on. The way we play that game, and the margin of victory, will tell us a lot about how the rest of the season will turn out.

 

[fairgambit]

Truth be told, this is no longer a top tier program. It hasn't been since the mid 90's. Franklin indicated after the OSU loss that we were great, but not elite. News flash: We aren't anywhere near being great. What Penn State has become, despite having one of the best fan bases and traditions in college football, is the equivalent of Michigan State, Wisconsin, West Virginia, etc. That is, we will occasionally compete at a top ten level, but not consistently. And rarely will we win the big, big games. As much as that hurts, this is what we are. Twenty plus years is a large enough sample size to draw this conclusion.

I agree. We are not a great program. I consider us a good one, but the distance between good and great, and then great and elite, can be difficult to close. We'll see in the next couple of years if Franklin can cover the former. I'm not confident he, or anyone else, can take us to the elite level.

 

[kijanacat]

This regurgitates an argument I had last year, we seem to do whatever is necessary to lose. I love my Lions but this team is a mediocrity and not really very good. How many of you think we beat Wiscy and Michigan going forward.
Our offense is Trace McSorely. Period. If trace doesn't do it it doesn't get done.
That bothers me. The offense should be a communal effort with its centerpiece.
The two dropped interceptions had to be made and both were dropped. Game over. The rest of the game raised one simple question. Did Dantonio outcoach us to stay in the game so we could do an el-foldo in the fourth quarter. In any event, for the last two years (and this one too) we have been living off of TMS and that gig is about over. We do have offensive talent, however. There are tweaks we need to make and I don't know how to make them. I can't blame Franklin since he is, IMHO, a recruiter and cheerleader and other people made game day decisions. Well, I will enjoy the rest of season but now have low expectations.

 

[Big 0]

I agree. We are not a great program. I consider us a good one, but the distance between good and great, and then great and elite, can be difficult to close. We'll see in the next couple of years if Franklin can cover the former. I'm not confident he, or anyone else, can take us to the elite level.

No, right now we are not even a good program, but a mediocre program. Talent level wise we are a good to great program, but we are not playing up to that talent level. That is on the coaches. Offensive and defensive schemes, figuring out the right personnel packages, making in game adjustments, getting fooled time and again on trick plays, appearing unprepared, etc. are primarily coaching issues. Going into this season I thought we had a fairly talented, but somewhat young and inexperienced coaching staff, but their inability to get things done and really not correcting or minimizing deficiencies makes me think otherwise now.

 

[84Lion]

At the start of this season I was thinking 8-4 or maybe 9-3. App State should have been a warning but the high pre-season ranking and performance against Pitt even made me sip the Kool-Aid. I should've known better.
If the staff really aspires to "elite" status, boners like yesterday are simply not permissible. I can accept last year's losses to OSU and MSU (both away) but the too-often "fourth-quarter collapse" in big games is again unacceptable for "elite" or even "great."
I'll probably get over this loss and continue to follow this team's progress (or lack thereof) but 8-4 looks about right now. That's not horrible but with the MSU loss it will put PSU squarely in 4th place behind OSU, UM, and MSU. I don't care how good the B1G East is, that's not "elite" or "great" either. Can't be a help to recruiting.
Yesterday's loss was, to me, disappointing but not especially surprising. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the remainder of the season.

 

[franklinman]

I’m more disappointed after reports came out that they had the best practice of the season earlier in the week. I’d hate to see how they would play after bad practices.

C'mon, you know a good or bad practice has nothing to do with the real time game. Every team comes out with a game plan, its how the team executes that plan, and is it the correct plan.

 

[AWS1022]

Coming off a bye week at home with a lot to play for and playing a beatable team, and Penn State completely shit the bed. Bad offense, bad defense, bad special teams, turnovers, penalties...

I am concerned that the team is not as good as many of us thought or hoped. However, I am more concerned that team chemistry is lacking and could get worse as a result of the last two close losses that could have or should have been wins. It is often hard to differentiate poor play from poor coaching since we aren't in the practices or on the sidelines, but it is certainly fair to be concerned about the coaching at this point.

So what happens next? We have learned a lot about this team, not what we had hoped to learn, but we will learn even more by the way the team responds to adversity. Do they mail it in? Is there finger pointing? Do they resolve themselves to get better, physically and mentally, and take their game to a new level?

What will we see against indiana? More of the same or a team determined to save their season? It's a steep hill to climb at this point.

If only we had recent history to look back and see how they will do after losing back to back to OSU and MSU.

 

[m.knox]

I’m more disappointed after reports came out that they had the best practice of the season earlier in the week. I’d hate to see how they would play after bad practices.

That and the OL is in the best shape in 6 years.......... They very well may be in the best shape in 6 years, but they ain't soup yet.....

 

[psuro]

I plan on drinking heavily.

 

[AWS1022]

I, stupidly, was confident in the offense because I thought there was plenty of talent available to overcome the losses of Barkley, Hamilton, and Gesicki. My biggest concern coming into the season was tight-end play, but Freirmuth has been very good for a freshman. The poor play by the wide receivers, aside from Hamler, has really surprised me.

On defense, I had concerns about all the new starters, but I thought they would be better by virtue of their recruiting rankings. The inconsistency displayed by veterans Reid and Amani and the poor tackling week to week is extremely disappointing.

The team last year had Barkley, Hamilton and Gesicki and they lost back to back to OSU and MSU I believe.

 

[m.knox]

Two things I’m worried about.

1- Coaches may have lost this team.

2- Another loss in which the coaches can’t figure out how to put teams away is going to hurt recruiting.

I seriously hope I am wrong.

I'm not worried about #1. I think there is leadership here.

I'm worried about Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin.......... Playing Iowa and Wisconsin at home seems relatively meaningless at this point. Unfortunately.

Edit: Add Maryland.....

 

[psuro]

 

[Nittany_93]

Lost in every facet of the game, worst performance of the year and yet it still managed to be a one score loss. Many teams playing a game like that should have been blown out.

Not making excuses, there's a plethora of issues that need to be addressed. I suspect if they even improve in any single aspect, a game like the one just played becomes a win.

 

[BobPSU92]

If only we had recent history to look back and see how they will do after losing back to back to OSU and MSU.

This team has more holes than last year’s team. We also play at um this year.

I also think the loss to Tosu at home might have been more devastating to this team than losing to them on the road last year. Plus, this is now two years in a row losing to Tosu and MSU.

There are a lot of reasons to be concerened about this year’s team.

 

[psuro]

We went from aspiring to be elite to enduring a playoff delete.

 

[Connorpozlee]

The team is definitely not as good as people thought. Not sure what they looked at that said playoff team. We don't have a single playmaker on defense except maybe Miller. Offense lost a ton of talent.

Miller is a good player. He is not a “playmaker”.

 

[Connorpozlee]

The killer play was the stupid play by Thorpe after stopping MSU on the goal line. Stupid, stupid, undisciplined play. That was inexcusable.

 

[Ski]

Now what?

VOLLEYBALL.

 

[Nittany_93]

The killer play was the stupid play by Thorpe after stopping MSU on the goal line. Stupid, stupid, undisciplined play. That was inexcusable.

I didn't see what Thorpe did, replay didn't really show it either. What happened?